


The Sparkle in Your Eye was Only Foreshadowing

by marissalyn14



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hollstein - Freeform, LaFerry - Freeform, Other, Smut, Zeta Society - Freeform, band au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 18:01:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5752957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marissalyn14/pseuds/marissalyn14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura only wanted to go out and celebrate her new internship, not get tied up with the punk girl who sang songs about sex every Friday night like it was a religion. Besides she didn't do girls that could only ever be in love with themselves. She deserved more than that didn't she?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_“How can the stars  
Distance in daylight  
Like it’s alright_

_Like it’s alright?”_

_-‘How’ by Daughter_

January 2016

You’re sitting on the bathroom sink in a hotel room your manager had gotten you as a peace offering, the cigarette burning between your lips a hand-me-down from your bass player who was currently on the floor hugging the toilet like a vice.

You were touching up the nail polish on your index finger after biting your nail because you were thinking about her smile. Her bright smile that had always filled your chest with a heat that would put any flame to shame. You chipped the polish right around the time you started to think about the chip in her front tooth she got at one of your shows after someone bumped into her while she was drinking from a bottle of beer. 

The tan line on your left ring finger was starting to fade and you never wished for the sun to be present more than you did in the months since you had taken it off. You took it off because you found hers next to the orchid on the windowsill of your bedroom the morning after she left. Since then the hotel room had grown more familiar to you then the back of her head. You never missed something so much as her shampoo on the pillow beside your own. 

You thought you could write songs about it. Break up songs that could help some other sad bastard through whatever it was this dull silence you were currently listening to was, so far nothing has come. 

The first time you saw her, lyrics flew through your fingertips and onto a napkin along with your phone number. 

The first time you kissed her a whole chorus was written on the strings of your lucky guitar at four in the morning.

The last time you saw her your hands were clammy and your shirt was sticking to your back from the sweat you had worked up on stage. 

There had been nothing John Mayer about it. It had just happened. Just like everything else that has ‘just happened’ to you in your life. Your father died and your mother walked out on you. Your brother overdosed and your sister wrote you off. Your ex flame introduced you to your ex wife. Your unborn child was never more than a conversation. You were alone. Again. 

Your manager knocked on the bathroom door to tell you the car would be leaving for the venue in five and you knew that you were never going on stage. Instead you were going to finish your cigarette, fire your bassist, and walk out of that hotel before your career could ruin anything you had left, which was nothing but yourself and you had already done enough of that on your own. 

There was no one to call; they had all been her friends first after all. Now you were just the jerk that hurt their best friend even though she told you to leave. Even though she asked you to never write another song about her. Even though you were more sure about her than you were about anything else in your life. After all you loved her more than the music.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before there was a wedding ring, before there was a relationship, there was just two girls who met at just the right time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we meet again. There are no excuses for me being away for so long except life itself. Writing is hard and it sucks, what can I say? Anyways, enjoy our favorite two goobers meet and fall in love for the gazillionth time, enjoy!

Act One: Pop, Punk, and a Whiskey Sour 

_“Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth._  
Only I don’t know how they got out, dear.  
Turn me back into the pet I was when we met.  
I was happier then with no mind-set.”  
‘New Slang’ by The Shins 

>November 2014

It was a Friday night and you could finally relax, something you hadn’t allowed yourself to do during the entire first six months of your senior year of grad school. You took in your surroundings as you waited to meet your friends. The place was packed, as it was most Friday nights, all there for the same reason. That reason was the person who was setting up their guitar to the right of the small stage. She stood stoic as ever, hair curtained across her face as she bowed her head to tune her guitar as best she could in the clamor of the pub.

You looked away after another moment when you heard the voices of your friends now next to you and already trying to get the bartender’s attention. 

Danny leaned against the bar, watching you as she always had, a glowing ember in her blue eyes, a reminder of the flame that once was there that had long since sputtered out since you both had decided to break up. LaFontaine stood beside their girlfriend Perry as they both tried to maneuver into stools as quickly as they were vacated. 

“Any reason you wanted to meet here frosh? Usually it takes a bunch of convincing to get you to come here.” LaFontaine asked as they briefly turned away to order their drink. 

You smiled brightly, “Yes actually,” you looked between the three of them before continuing, “I got the job!”

All three of their faces lit up, knowing just exactly how hard their friend worked to get to where she was now. A collection of “congrats” and “you deserve it”s went around the small group as they all settled into their stools and began to nurse their drinks. 

“So I guess that means I should buy you a drink then?” A voice sidled up beside you, the voice of a lower register than yours, but still not a guy which you were grateful for. The last thing you needed was another dudebro you had to explain that you liked girls past the purely sexual way. 

You geared yourself up to tell the girl politely that you weren’t interested, but that was before you actually saw who had offered. It was the girl with the guitar. Someone you had admired from afar once or twice or maybe seven times, but never thought it appropriate to actually try and talk to her. Afterall, after every one of her sets, the girl was always bombarded by many girls and dudes alike (even though she would always turn the guys away), and you immediately grew uninterested in being just a one night stand with someone who left with a “fan” every week. 

“I’m sorry?” You asked instead after a momentary brain fart, hoping she wouldn’t notice. 

“I couldn’t help but overhear you say you just got a new job, sounded like you were excited about it. Figured I could buy you a drink as congratulations.” The girl said, and it never dawned on you how you didn’t know her name after seeing her so often perform on the small bar stage. 

“You don’t even know me.” You said as a form of flirting, or at least that’s what you were hoping you were doing. 

The girl smirked, her eyes scanning your face before she spoke again. “No, but I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t like to.” 

“Are you flirting with me?” You asked, channeling your inner coy fish. 

This time instead of a smirk, you received a small smile. “That depends, do you want me to be?”

“Carmilla, you’re up.” The bartender interrupted your conversation, sliding a tumbler half full of something dark to the girl in front of you. 

Carmilla nodded her head before turning to you, “To be continued?”

You couldn’t help but smile at her question, “Depends on what drink you think I like.” 

The corner of Carmilla’s lip twitched as she looked at the stage before looking back to you. Your glass was empty so she had only the the shape of the glass to go off of. She turned to the bartender, her confidence not going unnoticed by you. “Jim, get this lovely lady another Cosmo while I go do my job for the night.”

“It’s about time.” The bartender joked as Carmilla winked at you before making her way back to the stage, grabbing her guitar without losing stride as she stepped up behind the mic, “So this first one goes out to the pretty girl with the cosmo.” Carmilla said as she briefly checked her guitar for tuning. “She just got a new job and I think that’s pretty awesome.” A few people yelled their congrats and some just yelled to yell, and suddenly not only were you happily on your second drink of the night that you didn’t have to pay for, but you were also the interest of the girl everyone else was interested in. You weren’t so sure you hated it.

Reaching back for your drink, you felt the glass stick to the napkin from the condensation, pulling it apart you noticed a smudge of black beneath the wet ring. You couldn’t help but smile at the phone number that had been scrawled across the napkin along with a few words, _‘Hair like honey, eyes like cinnamon, she has my head spinnin even from across the room.’_

xXx

Carmilla’s back hit the wall as you pressed into her, fingers wrapping into the edge of her shirt as she bit your lip to tease.

Pulling apart with your lungs fighting for air, you took the opportunity to wrench your keys out of your pocket to unlock the door to your apartment.

“So that’s what was poking me,” Carmilla said with a smirk, “I was beginning to wonder.”

You laughed breathlessly, turning the key into the lock as you tried to avoid her eyes. They were too deep, too dark, if you didn’t fight it you’d be a goner. This was only a one night stand after all, that’s all it was and all it should be. She was just some girl who sang in a pub on the weekends and you were about to start your dream job at a new and upcoming newspaper. Clearly you both weren’t the right fit besides a good fuck and a laugh. 

Carmilla was still staring at you though, as if she wanted you to look at her, wanted you to get lost in her.

You weren’t so sure you wanted to be another of her victims though, one of those sad girls that shows up to see her every week as Carmilla didn’t even bat an eye at them because she had already gone down that road before. It seemed to you that Carmilla had only one interest in mind, and that was being unattainable. 

“What are you doing?” You found yourself asking as you shut the door behind you both. 

She continued to stare for a moment more before raising a brow in confusion. “Doing what?” 

“Looking at me like that.” 

She cocked her head slightly to the left, smirk yet again in place, a step towards you and you knew she was back into being the girl she was in the bar. She had only one plan in mind and it was written all over her, the way her hips sashayed and her lips pouted. She wanted to eat you alive, and you would let her because let’s face it, you hadn’t been fucked in a long time, not since Danny and you deserved a night of not thinking. A complete night that you could easily forget in the morning when you woke up in an empty bed, in fact you welcomed it. No strings attached you had told her on the way back to your place. She had merely chuckled and said, “No strings.”

“I’m looking at you because it just might be impossible to look away.” She said slowly, another step closer and you felt yourself moving backwards into the kitchen counter. 

Now you were sure she had said these exact words before and tried not to take them to heart, but the way she was looking at you made you want her right there on the floor, clothes off, and her head between your thighs. 

In fact, nothing stopped you from doing just that.

xXx

You woke up on the floor. A patch of drool dried on your face as you pried open your eyes and blinked the sun into the room. You were in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, a blanket lazily draped over your scantily clad body, and you were alone.

Breathing out a sigh of relief you sat up slowly, the vodka still swimming in your stomach as you made it to your feet and immediately regretted it. 

You hadn’t been too drunk last night, you knew exactly who you brought back to your place and you knew exactly what had happened five times give or take on the floor where you had just woken up. You could even remember exactly the moment when you passed out after your third orgasm and just how much you had needed it. 

You could remember the moment Carmilla had slipped out of the apartment, slowly slipping out from beneath you and quietly grabbing her clothes that had been scattered around you in piles. The door shutting almost soundlessly as you had kept your eyes closed the entire time so as not to make things awkward. 

Right now you were just going to start your day just like any other and convince yourself that a ‘thanks for last night’ text was completely inappropriate. Instead you plugged your dead phone in and got into the shower to rinse the sex and alcohol off of your body and remember just in time that you had made plans with Danny to meet for coffee in a half an hour. 

Quickly getting dressed you wrapped yourself up to greet the frosted November morning air and began your walk to the coffee shop exactly three blocks from both your place and Danny’s. You used to meet there all the time to study for English lit in the early years of you dating, but that was past you both now and honestly you were glad that it was. Danny was your best friend and you needed her to be in your life just as much as you needed LaF and Perry, if not more so. 

Just like always, she beats you to your table, coffee already in hand and your hot chocolate set across from her just waiting for you to welcome it. 

“Rough morning?” Danny asked in greeting, her eyes watching you from behind the rim of her mug.

“Woke up late.” You said, avoiding the question because you weren’t ready to pop the perfectly satisfying bubble you had woken up in. Mostly because you still didn’t feel 100% comfortable talking to Danny about your love life or sex life or anything that personal, mostly because you still remembered her face when you broke her heart almost a year ago. It wouldn’t be fair to her. Especially when it had been the one person Danny had always had a grudge against. 

Danny had known Carmilla for quite some time, or knew of her rather. Apparently Carmilla had slept her way through majority of the Summer Society back in junior year and Danny was still not over it because she was the only one that hadn’t fallen for her charm. It simply made you feel guilty, which was ridiculous because you didn’t owe Danny anything besides your friendship. 

Maybe it was because she had been your first, and a good first at that, none of those horror stories you had heard all in high school and freshman year of college about first times had happened to you. She had been a perfect gentlewoman, and always knew how to take care of you. 

But whether that was relevant or not (it wasn’t), you didn’t owe her this. In fact it wasn’t even a secret really, it was just something you didn’t feel necessary to tell her. In fact you could even consider it a good thing, not telling Danny about you and Carmilla. You were saving her the anger and disappointment she would surely send your way. As much as you loved her, Danny was definitely judgemental. 

Danny nodded at your answer, not bothering to further question it as she set down her mug and leaned back in her chair. “You got home alright last night?”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes, remembering all of the small fights you would both get in over Danny’s over protectiveness. “Yeah, grabbed a cab.”

“Good, good.” Danny reached for her coffee again as she looked out the shop window at the street full of college students and other adults alike move about. 

“What about you? You didn’t stay long last night.” You asked, not trying to sound like it had bothered you that Danny had left early. To be truthful, you hadn’t noticed she had left until LaF and Perry had announced their leaving. You had been much more interested in the girl on the stage. 

Danny looked back at you and shrugged, “Yeah, I had some papers to grade still.” 

An old fashioned lie Danny had told many a time when she wanted space. Something you had grown accustomed to during your last month of dating. 

You nodded, looking out towards the street as well as you neared the end of your drink. Nursing the end of it, you tried not to notice the familiar brunette across the street with a guitar strapped to her back and a beanie covering most of her head. 

Danny followed your gaze, her jaw tightening ever so slightly at who she saw.

You looked away quickly, your gaze landing into the bottom of your mug, debating on if you wanted a refill or to just leave all together. It didn’t seem like Danny was all too interested in anything but a fight today and you just didn’t have it in you. 

You thought things would get better if you kept your distance in the beginning, but then it became too hard to hangout with just LaF and Perry and suddenly it was the four of you again and you tried not to notice the lingering looks Danny would send your way when she thought you weren’t looking. It truly hurt you to think you had lost her, the Danny you knew before you dated. You were so sure you would get her back if you just gave her time, after all you both had dated for two years, feelings like that just don’t go away, at least not for everyone. 

You wished you had loved her as fiercely as she had you. You really did. You had made sense together, you could easily see yourself marrying her and raising a family and growing old and grey together, but suddenly you woke up one morning finding yourself wanting something different. Of course it hadn’t been an instantaneous thing, the bickering had weighed on you for months, and Danny’s constant vigilance drove you nuts. It had been a long time coming, you just wished it had happened sooner. Maybe then you would have your best friend back instead of this bitter ex lover. 

Either way you were just glad she didn’t hate you. You wouldn’t know what you’d do if she had. 

You were just about to ask Danny if she wanted a refill when the door opened to the small coffee shop and Carmilla walked in. You prayed she wouldn’t see you, and at first it looked like she hadn’t, but as she got into line she was smirking again. Sure you couldn’t be sure if it was directed towards you or the barista, and it was probably the barista, but still. You needed to make sure she never told anyone about last night. Danny could never find out, no one could. Immediately you were out of your seat and behind Carmilla in line, trying not to acknowledge her blatant flirting with the girl behind the counter. You quickly jumbled out your order and went to stand next to Carmilla as you both waited for your drinks to be made. 

“Fancy running into you here.” Carmilla said amused and as chipper as ever. Not that you really knew her or her habits, but she just seemed like a very chipper person when the time was always wrong. 

“This is my coffee shop.” You blurted out, feeling your face turn pink at your words. 

Carmilla’s brow raised, “Oh is it now?”

“I just mean,” you huffed as you watched her turn towards you, “I always come here and I’ve never seen you in here before.”

“Well there’s always a first time for everything,” Carmilla said as she reached for her coffee that was just placed on the counter. “Besides, I’ve been in here plenty of times and I’ve never seen you.” 

Your face was turning from pink to red in slight irritation. Carmilla was looking at you like she knew something you didn’t and suddenly you were very self conscious of how you looked and started looking anywhere but at her. 

Carmilla hummed at your obvious ignorance, “Well this was fun, maybe next time you won’t be so jumpy if we run into each other.” She turned to leave just as you caught her elbow, a warm familiarity in the touch that you immediately shoved down deep into your ribs. 

“You can’t tell anyone about what happened.” You said hastily, not realizing just exactly how lame and frigid you sounded. 

Again with the raised eyebrows, Carmilla began to grin. Gone was the smirk you never thought left her face, and in its place sat smug arrogance. “You mean when you and I fucked?” She asked in a low tone so as not to let anyone in their immediate vicinity in on their conversation. 

“Hot chocolate and Coffee for Laura.” The barista called, pushing two mugs nearly filled to the brim towards them. 

Laura’s eyes darted to the cups, hoping that they would give her a good enough of an excuse to leave. 

“Afraid beanstalk over there is gonna find out?” Carmilla snickered, her eyes roaming over your shoulder to where you had left Danny by the window. 

“Just don’t say anything to anyone.” You repeated, hoping that this very embarrassing conversation was just about over so you could immediately start coming up with something to tell Danny when she asked just exactly how you and Carmilla know each other. 

A look passed over Carmilla’s face, hurt perhaps, but you didn’t think her the type to be offended easily. “I never brag about the intimacies I share with my partners.” 

Oh, so now was the time she decided she wanted to seem sincere. Again, she didn’t seem the type to care about such things as a girl’s reputation besides her own. You weren’t sure just exactly what was making you paint Carmilla as the villain, in fact you were just as much to blame if it came down to pointing fingers, but you were just making sure nothing got out. It was completely understandable that you wouldn’t want your ex to know about your sexscapades. 

“Don’t worry little Lauronica Mars,” Carmilla said as she stepped into your space, her mouth close to your ear, “your secret’s with me.” 

Just as fast as she had moved into your space she had moved back, sending you a two fingered salute before stepping around you and out of the coffee shop. 

You forced yourself not to watch her go, instead stepping up to the counter and grabbing the two mugs and heading back to your table where Danny was sat staring at her phone. 

“What was that all about?” She asked trying to sound disinterested. 

“Nothing,” You said almost too quickly. At Danny’s concerned gaze you repeated yourself, “It was nothing.”

xXx

“It sure doesn’t sound like nothing.” LaF said from where they sat on the floor next to their latest project.

“Oh leave her alone, she’s very confused.” Perry scolded, turning to you on the couch and patting your hand. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out Laura, hopefully you won’t see Carmilla again for awhile.” 

You sighed, knowing fully well that there was a fat chance of that happening. 

“Besides,” Perry continued, “It’ll give you time to figure out how to tell Danny.”

“Why would she tell Danny?” LaF asked, stifling a laugh. 

Perry made a face like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Because if Danny finds out from somebody else, it’ll be much worse than hearing it from Laura herself.”

“Carmilla isn’t going to tell anyone.” You deadpanned. After your little tiff, if you could even call it that, you realized that Carmilla wasn’t entirely the type of person she tried to portray herself as. At least you don’t think so. 

“Sounds good enough to me.” LaF said, almost sounding sarcastic. When it came to things like this, they really weren’t the first person to ask for advice. Which is exactly why Perry was giving you such a hard time right now, she had to go over every scenario possible, and normally you were grateful for it, but today you just wished you hadn’t told them about Carmilla at all. 

You liked it better when it was just a secret between the two of you. Now it was out there and you couldn’t pretend like it didn’t happen if you wanted to. Which you didn’t, not entirely anyways. 

It was just a one night stand anyways. Something that was never going to happen again. Something that only brings two strangers together once and then they’re supposed to go off on their merry ways satisfied and the phone number would be ripped up, and it would be an unspoken agreement that you wouldn’t ever purposefully cross paths again. And if you did, well you would just act normal, as if nothing ever happened, a polite hello if necessary, and then again you would both move on as if neither one of you touched each other’s lives even once, even for a second. 

Except that was all out the window now after your complete failure at trying to control a situation, a situation that didn’t need any controlling to begin with. If only you had just never walked up to Carmilla in the coffee shop at all, you wouldn’t be as stressed as you were now. You wouldn’t feel as guilty as you do. Again you were wondering why you needed to feel guilty when all that had happen was two mature adults sharing a night together past pleasantries, and now you felt the need to tell your ex about something that is entirely none of her business to begin with. 

Coming to terms with all of this information, you ignored Perry’s attempt at a scenario where Danny would find out through the bartender, or the cab driver, or someone who had seen the two of you on the street. It was something so completely near impossible that you tried not to laugh. 

Danny wouldn’t find out, unless you gave her a reason to think there was something between you and Carmilla, which there wasn’t. 

Danny wouldn’t find out, you were sure of it.

xXx

You had no idea where you would be able to find Carmilla without actually being a creep and stalking her social medias, so you decided you would wait for the following Friday to apologize. You felt that it was the least you could do after practically yelling at her in the coffee shop.

You sat at the bar just like you always had and waited for her to show. Sipping on your cosmo, you watched everyone in the room, all either in their own little groups or by themselves looking either bored or in deep thought. You wondered if people saw you as one of them, the ones deep in thought who always looked sad and could use your pity. 

After all, who goes looking for the girl they had a one night stand with and telling her you’re sorry for accusing her of being an asshole. Really you felt like the asshole right about now, because Carmilla just walked into the bar with her beanie and guitar and you never felt like your stomach wanted to leave your body more than it did in this moment, swinging between your ankles like a weight you couldn’t quite lift on your own. 

Immediately she saw you, not that you were particularly hiding from her. You were clear as day smack dab in the middle of the bar staring right at her. 

She remained expressionless as she moved over to the stage, turning her back on you as she bent to set down her guitar case and unzip it. You were given the familiar view you hadn’t seen all too long ago as she rummaged for what seemed a tad too long through her case before she finally stood up straight and made her way over to you, or more specifically the bar. 

“Whiskey sour.” She said to Jim, still not looking over at you as she leaned against the bar and waited for her drink to be made. 

Unsure of what to say first, or to talk at all even, you kept quiet, nursing your drink like it was the most important thing in that moment. 

“Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Carmilla said casually as she received her drink and threw down a ten to pay for it. 

Suddenly you weren’t so sure she was talking to you, but she had to be because none of her groupies had shown up yet, and yeah she may not be looking at you, but you hardly thought she was talking to Jim. She did see him every Friday to begin with. 

“Really?” You decided to ask. She did sound sincere. 

She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. “Last time I saw you it sounded like you never wanted to see me again.” She sounded slightly bothered by what she said and it confused you. Wasn’t she used to one night stands? 

“Did you want me to be happy to see you?” You blurted, regretting how awful it sounded. 

Carmilla blinked as if she was used to the rudeness, “Well I hardly thought you’d be that mad after the night we had.” She sounded cocky again, so sure of herself. You hated how right she actually was. 

Fighting the blush that was beginning to bloom across your face, you spluttered, “I just came here to apologize.”

“Apologize?” Carmilla asked, her eyes scanning the room around you before turning to look at you finally, “Who would’ve thought someone so righteous would feel the need to apologize at all.”

Ok, so you weren’t used to the bite in her tone, but you knew it was completely valid. You had hurt her, that was clear, although why she cared so much was beyond you. Maybe it was a good thing you only spent one night together, it was hard to imagine anything more than that. You both were just so different it would hardly work. Not that you wanted it to. You were acquaintances, nothing more. 

“Well I’m sorry.” You said, “I’m sorry for yelling at you in the coffee shop, and I’m sorry for just being rude to you now.”

“I’d hardly call that rude,” Carmilla said, “harsh sure, but I’ve heard much worse cutie, nothing to worry your pretty little head about.” 

And she was back to being cold and distant. Perfect.

“Anyways, I’ve got a show to get started.” Carmilla continued before finishing off her drink. “I’ll see you around.” She slid the glass back over to where Jim stood a few stools down. Again she saluted you before making her way back towards the stage and picking up her guitar. 

You slipped out after her second song, no longer feeling welcome as you walked home, the cold air nipping at your ears and nose as you made the trip back home. You could’ve grabbed a cab, but you felt like walking, it wasn’t too far. A mere five blocks. Besides, you had a lot to think about.

xXx

The next time you saw Carmilla was two weeks later. It hadn’t been in the bar that you had since steered clear of, and it wasn’t in the coffee shop that you knew she purposefully passed if she saw you in it.

It had been at the bookstore when she rang you up after picking up some books you had been meaning to read for awhile. At first she didn’t say anything, but after a minute of you staring she sighed heavily as she peered at you from beneath her lashes, waiting for you to say something.

“I didn’t know you work here.” You said, a bit nervous and unsure of yourself, which was ridiculous, you were merely stating a fact. 

“Never got to know me all too well now did you?” She asked, a bite to her tone just like the last time you spoke. 

You felt yourself roll your eyes as you took notice to being the only customer in the used bookstore, save for the young teenage boy who had been in the back corner of the shop for the past ten minutes. “Don’t act like it’s all my fault.”

Carmilla looked at you with confusion, “What’s your fault?”

“That you hate me.” 

“I don’t hate you.”

“Ok, well then that you are angry with me.” You reworded. 

Carmilla set down the last book she had to scan and leaned into the counter with her elbow, the palm of her hand propping her chin up as she looked at you again with the amusement of a cat that had cornered a mouse. “Are you saying that it’s my fault that I’m mad at you?”

You scoffed at the question, trying not to look her in the eye because it made you nervous. “I’m just saying that it takes two people to tango.” 

Carmilla chuckled lowly, her lips curling up into a smirk on the one side. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

You huffed, your hands growing sweaty as you watched her calculate the cost of the books. 

“$17.80.” 

You pulled a twenty out of your wallet and handed it over to her, your thumb brushing over her’s as she took the money. 

“So what if I was to say I’m not angry at you anymore?” Carmilla asked as she got your change, dropping it into your outstretched hand.

“You’re not?”

She shook her head as you felt a breath of relief escape from your chest. “Could’ve fooled me.” You said, placing the change back into your wallet as she placed your books in a bag. 

“Yeah well, after last time I wasn’t so sure you’d be willing to say yes.” Carmilla spoke slowly trying not to sound unsure of herself. 

“Say yes to what?” You asked, reaching for your bag of books.

“A do over.” Carmilla watched your reaction as she said it, her hands moving around the countertop to straighten it up.

“For you and me?” You asked, mentally slapping yourself for sounding like a idiot. 

“Coffee?” Carmilla asked with more confidence now, flashing you a smile that you hadn’t seen many times before. 

“When?” You asked. 

“I get off work in ten minutes, are you busy then?”

You find yourself smiling back, pursing your lips as if you had to think about it before speaking, “I think I can swing it.”

Carmilla’s lips quirked up into a small smile as she shuffled the business cards next to the register. “I thought of it more as a waltz.” 

“What?” Immediately confused at the sudden change of subject, you watched Carmilla look at you again with this sort of softness, perhaps a likeness even. 

“The other night, us. You called it a tango.”

“Oh, that.” You choked, “Right.” 

Carmilla chuckled, “I’ll see you in ten minutes then.” 

You quickly nodded, jutting your thumb behind you towards the door. “Yeah, I’ll just be outside.” You turned to leave, nearly tripping and falling over your own feet.

xXx

You both decided to go to a different coffee shop to avoid any possible run-ins with anyone either of you knew (i.e. Danny), and settled down with your preferred drinks and comfortable conversation.

In the two whole hours you spent sitting there talking to Carmilla, you learned quite a bit about her. Stuff you didn’t think she would have ever told you, like that she had two siblings, her favorite instrument to play was in fact the piano and not the guitar, and lastly you learned that her favorite movie of all time was The Goonies, which made both of you laugh. Carmilla was starting to be the last person you expected her to be, which just had to be one of the most exciting and interesting things you’ve ever experienced. 

As for you, you told her that you were an only child and that it was just you and your dad, that your favorite kind of ice cream was chocolate, and that you have a scar in the shape of a crescent moon on the heel of your left foot from a piece of glass you had stepped on your first night in the city. Nothing too personal, they were all things your friends already knew about you, but it felt different telling Carmilla. Why you had no idea, but it was certainly something.

xXx

Looking around the coffee shop as you finished off your second hot cocoa, you realized that it was starting to fill with more people and the sun was setting outside the window you were sat in front of.

Carmilla noticed your attention sway, looking around and out the window as well.

Peering down at your watch, you noticed that it was just past six, meaning that everyone was either coming home from work or already home. The wind started to pick up outside, blowing through the trees along the street, making you believe that rain was soon to follow. 

“Can I walk you home?” Carmilla asked as she too finished her coffee and began to collect the empty sugar packets and napkins that had held their cookies. 

“Oh you don’t have to do that.” You said, afraid that Carmilla wouldn’t be able to make it back to her own place before it started to rain. After telling her so, Carmilla waved a hand as if to dismiss the idea. 

“I actually don’t live too far from you.” Carmilla said, even though you both knew it was a lie. She lived in the complete opposite direction of the coffee shop, but she wanted to walk you home, and if you were being honest, so did you. 

Holding the door open for you as you both left the cafe, Carmilla stuffed her hands into her jacket and walked beside you as you crossed the street. “If you could eat anything in the world right in this moment, what would you eat?” She asked. 

Pondering it for a moment, you quickly answered, “General Tao’s chicken.” 

Carmilla immediately stopped walking and began walking the other way. 

“What’re you doing?” You asked, following her back down the street. 

“Going to get you some General Tao’s chicken.” 

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

Carmilla chuckled, “Just trust me, ok?”

Uncomfortable with that request but not wanting to go home just yet, you followed her. Something you would get pretty used to doing in the next couple of years.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm only going to continue this if you guys are interested. This is just the prologue but who knows what could become of it. Please let me know what you think of it and if you have any ideas for a band name or just ideas you can message me on tumblr. Feedback will be the only way I continue this so if this seems like it could be a thing you like, please let me know!
> 
> You can find me here: thisismyhalfroomcutie.tumblr.com


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